Last week, Donald Trump profoundly misrepresented what motivates opponents of abortion, and by so doing did a disservice to the pro-life movement.
During an interview with Chris Matthews, Trump was asked if women who have abortions should be punished. Here’s the exchange:
MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle?
TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.
MATTHEWS: For the woman?
TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form.
Trump’s suggestion that if abortion were banned in the future women who got abortions would have to be punished is evidence that he hasn’t spent any time seriously thinking about or discussing one of the most fundamental issues facing the country. No serious leader in the pro-life movement advocates punishing women if abortion is banned.
The pro-life position has been absolutely clear: Every abortion negatively affects two people, both the mother and her child. How could Donald Trump give such an ill-conceived answer? I have a hunch.
In the past, Trump has been a strong supporter of abortion rights. Asked in 1999 whether he would ban partial-birth abortions, Trump answered, “Well, look, I’m very pro-choice.” Pressed again as to whether he would ban partial-birth abortions, Trump replied, “No. I am pro-choice in every respect.”
Now that was a long time ago — 17 years. There have been many pro-abortion people who end up becoming pro-life over time. As Donald Trump often points out, Ronald Reagan was one of them. But they always have an explanation.
Perhaps they saw their first child’s sonogram and were convicted by the knowledge that they are looking at a human being. Maybe they have a religious conversion and came to fully appreciate the Old Testament verse, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
Trump says he is pro-life now, but he has a weak narrative to explain it. One is left with the suspicion that he hasn’t had a genuine “road to Damascus” experience, but rather a “road to Cleveland” experience, where the Republican National Convention will be held.
Faced with a question he hasn’t thought through, it appears as though he was attempting to pander to pro-life conservatives. At one point during the interview, Trump said, “Well, people in certain parts of the Republican Party and conservative Republicans would say, ‘yes, [women] should be punished.'” Mr. Trump is simply wrong.
Sadly, he legitimized one of worst stereotypes of the Left when it comes to pro-life conservatives — that we want to put women in jail, that we are anti-woman.
Every politician I have ever known manages to hurt themselves in one way or another. That is the nature of politics. In this case, Trump hurt himself, helped the pro-abortion Left and damaged our cause of wanting an America where all of our children are welcomed into the world and protected under the law.
Before the evening was over, Trump’s campaign had issued multiple clarifications eventually aligning him with the position of the pro-life movement. But the damage didn’t end there.
A day later, Trump changed his position yet again, this time stating in an interview with CBS that, “The laws are set [on abortion], and I think we have to leave it that way.” Trump’s campaign again tried to walk back his comments, but I suspect it will be too late for many pro-lifers.
On abortion, authenticity and credibility are crucial. Without authentic belief in what it means to be pro-life, a candidate loses all credibility with the millions of pro-life voters who help make up the core of the Republican Party. At this point, Donald Trump has made it clear he is neither authentic nor credible on this issue. Pro-life voters are taking notice.
Gary Bauer is president of American Values and chairman of Campaign for Working Families. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
